


The Escape

by wormo



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Compliant, Gen, Minor Injuries, cross-species communication, dadvid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 21:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12566396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wormo/pseuds/wormo
Summary: Max was ambushed by Billy Nikssilp and abandoned by his friends. Once he finds himself stranded in the horrid Woodscout camp, he has to find his way out.On the other side of Lake Lilac, Nikki and Neil go on a mission to rescue their friend.(Rated T for swearing.)





	The Escape

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place between episodes 3 and 4. i was kinda disappointed that we didn't get to see how max got back to safety, so i threw this together.  
> this was written several months ago over the course of a couple weeks when i was supposed to be working. it's not great, but i wanted to post something to kick off the huge changes i've made to my account.
> 
> constructive criticism is encouraged! please tell me what you think, especially if you didn't like it.

Another punch lands on Max’s jaw, sending a ringing through his head. He can feel his right eye swelling already from previous swings. He tries to move his arms- out of instinct more than anything- but the ropes binding him to his seat are too tight. He knows there will be bruises on his arms once he escapes. _If he escapes._

“Why do you keep hitting me?!” he yells at the shadowy figure in front of him. “And why is it only cloudy on your side of the lake?!”

“That’s enough, Petrol.” A new voice comes from behind the figure- Petrol, apparently. A pale teenager steps forward into the dramatic lamp light. “We don’t want to over tenderize the new meat.” That phrase alone makes Max wince. _What the hell is going on?_

“Who the hell are you?” Max asks.

“Cedar scout, first class, Edward Pikeman,” the teen salutes. “Senior patrol leader of Woodscout troop eight-one-eight.” As he takes an authoritative stride forward, Max sees his face more clearly. He’s absolutely covered in acne. “And it looks like you’re our latest recruit.”

“God, your face is gross.” Max realizes what he said and bites his tongue. Pikeman looks visibly hurt, leaning back.

“What?”

“Oh-- sorry, it just slipped out.”

“Dude…”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. That was mean.”

“It really was.” Max almost finds it funny, how genuine the kid sounded for a moment.

“It’s just, you were so close and--”

“Enough!” Pikeman barks, catching Max off guard. _Well. I guess it’s back to drill sergeant._ “Woodscout enrollment has been at an all-time low recently; so we have no choice but to… forcibly recruit.”

“Have you considered that enrollment because you do shit like kidnap other campers?”

“Kidnap?” He sounds baffled. “Why, we’re just showing other camps the glory of our own camp. We _rescued_ you as you tried to run away from Camp Campbell, _remember?_ And now, we’re going to make a Woodscout out of you, Max.” his voice is eerie and unnatural. Max shies away subconsciously. “Prepare the ropes course!”

“ _No!_ ” Max’s anguish rings through the camp. He can only hope that his friends had ended up somewhere safe, or somewhere where they could hear him.

\--

“Nikki! Neil! Where have you two been?” David asks as soon as the two are back at camp. Nikki’s eagle pecks her forehead and flies away.

“Oh, just messing with the Flower Scouts,” Neil answers, wiping the remaining makeup off of his face. “We have Wifi now.” He points to a bright pink badge on his shirt, that seems to be blinking.

“You shouldn’t wander off like that,” David scolds. “What would have happened if one of you got lost, or… Kids, where’s Max?”

Nikki and Neil look at each other, suddenly remembering their third friend.

“He kind of got kidnapped by those Woodscout guys across the lake,” Nikki explains.

 

“He _what?!_ How did that happen?”

“We were trying to esc--” Neil slaps his hand over Nikki’s mouth before she can finish.

“Uh, what she means to say is… They ambushed us! We were taking a late night walk and one of their troop members- Billy Nikksilp, I think- jumped us and dragged Max away. Nikki and I just barely escaped.”

Nikki hesitates for a moment before nodding, shoving Neil’s hand away. “Yeah, it was insane! I think he actually stabbed Max in the back with a sharpened candy cane.”

“Max could be in serious trouble! I’ll go get Gwen, she’ll probably know how to handle this.” As David hurries over to the counselor cabin, Nikki looks over at Neil.

“Gwen will have no idea how to handle this,” she deadpans. Neil nods in agreement.

“Yeah, she’ll probably have a panic attack over the thought of having to do all that work to get Max back- and if we aren’t able to get him back, all the paperwork she’ll have to do. Plus the job market she’ll be dealing with once she’s either fired, or once the camp closes down.”

“Wait.” Nikki catches on a certain part of Neil’s ramble. “Do you think we might not be able to get Max back?”

“I’m sure we can, Nikki. We have to.”

Nikki nods. “Now, let’s get over to the boats.”

\--

Max flails slightly before falling face-first into the mud, his foot still caught on the top of the hurdle. Pikeman laughs from the sidelines.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that!” he jeers. Max growls, untangling himself and running to the next hurdle. He finally clears one, and can’t help but glance over at Pikeman for approval. Pikeman just stares back at him.

“Messy form. Go to the next one.”

Max has to bite back an irritated scream before continuing on.

\--

“Nikki, this is taking forever!” Neil whines. “My feet hurt.”

“If you’re that tired, how about you take a break on the canoe?” Nikki snaps.

“You mean the canoe _you_ capsized? It’s your fault, stop trying to pin it on me!”

“Well you could have _helped!_ I’m here for adventure camp, not rowing camp!”

Neil groans in frustration, dragging his hands down his face. The two had been walking the perimeter of the lake for hours. “Do you even know where we’re going?”

“Of course I do!” Nikki seems more angry than usual, so Neil decides to step off. Better a lost Nikki than a furious Nikki.

After what feels like _years,_ the two finally hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

“That has to be it!” Neil exclaims. “The Woodscouts’ camp always has stormclouds over it!” He frowns, wondering for a moment how that's even possible, but shakes it off. There are more important things to focus on.

“We’re gonna have to sneak past the defenses somehow,” Nikki grumbles. “How did they even afford giant walls with barbed wire?”

“Plus, I think there are guards.” Neil’s voice wobbles. “I’d rather not be captured along with Max.”

Nikki holds up one hand and listens for a moment before looking around at the bushes around them. She takes a stance and dives into one of them, emerging with a squirming stray dog. It kicks and growls, but Nikki doesn’t seem fazed. She puts it down and starts barking ferociously at it. The dog eventually stops growling and backs down. Nikki grins and pats it on the head. She turns to Neil, her mood seemingly lifted.

“We can use my new friend as a distraction! Help me get him over the wall.” She doesn’t wait for a response before running towards the base in the distance, the dog following close behind.

“But-- What-- Ugh!” Neil gives up and chases after them.

The two of them find the entrance of the camp and search for some sort of gap, somewhere to sneak the dog in. The entrance, however, is sealed tightly. Nikki gets more irritated, eyeing nearby trees as if she might climb up one and try to throw the dog over the wall. Neil spots a button at the edge of the door.

“Wait, look! I think this might be a doorbell of some sort. Should we press it?”

Nikki hurries over to the button and stares at it. “Well it’s big, it’s red, it’s shiny… I definitely wanna press this thing.”

“Hold on, now that you point that out--” Neil doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before Nikki punches the button. A siren rings throughout the camp, and Neil hurriedly drags Nikki to a nearby bush. Nikki calls at the dog to stay where he is.

Neil barely manages to get him and Nikki hidden before the gate cracks open.

“What the hell?” A voice behind the door says. “A dog? Petrol, go get Pikeman. This is suspicious.”

“Shit, they’re onto us!” Neil worries. Nikki elbows him in the ribs, silently telling him to quiet down. She slowly pokes her head out of the bushes and snaps her fingers. The dog looks over at her.

“Kill!”

The dog turns towards whoever’s behind the door and starts growling menacingly, before leaping at the Woodscout behind the door. The boy yells in alarm, but starts fighting back. Nikki runs out of the bush, only stopping briefly to grab Neil’s wrist and drag him out as well. As the lone Woodscout starts brawling with the dog, Nikki and Neil dart past him and into the high-security camp.

\--

Max grasps at the ropes above him, trying desperately to put distance between himself and the pit of hot coals beneath him. An ember jumps up and catches on Max’s jacket, singing it slightly. Max curses to himself and lets out a yelp as his foot slips, clinging to the above ropes for dear life.

“This is pathetic!” Pikeman calls from the sidelines. “Good thing it’s also entertaining as hell.”

Max debates letting go of one rope to flip off Pikeman, but decides his life is more important. He finds a foothold and scrambles a little further up on the ropes. A shred of confidence seems to come forward as he continues moving through the course, even taking a few risks like jumping from one rope to the next. The first two times were fine.

The third was not.

Max’s foot tangles in a mess of ropes and his back is bent at an uncomfortable angle, arms caught at his sides. His head hangs slightly upside-down, and he can already feel the blood rushing to his brain.

“Fuck.”

\--

“Come on, this way!” Nikki says as she drags Neil along. “I bet a siren’s bound to go off soon--” She’s cut off by a loud, wailing siren scaring the birds from the surrounding trees. “Yep. We better move!”

They sneak past guard troops and searchlights, eventually making it to where all the tents are kept. They dive behind a particularly large tent as a searchlight sweeps the ground near them.

“Where do you think he could be?” Nikki wonders aloud.

“Well… I don’t know if they have a prison place, but if they do… That’s probably where Max is. Maybe if we find one of the counselors, we can get them to tell us.”

“Great, sure.” Nikki seems distracted, peeking around the edge of the tent. “Ah ha!” She leaps out from behind the tent and tackles an unaware camper, holding him up by the collar of his shirt and growling like a mad dog. The camper screams, shielding his face.

“What did I do this time?!” he yells, voice shaking.

“Tell us where you’re keeping Max, the Campbell camper you kidnapped!” Neil says, walking over and standing behind Nikki.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, man! I’m not told anything around here!”

Nikki growls louder, shoving the back of the guy’s head into the dirt. “What about new recruits?! Where do they go?”

“New recruits? Th-They usually go through the standard training, over on the Eastern side of camp. I-It’s the place with all the fire.”

Nikki grins and lets go of the guy’s collar. “Thank you! C’mon, Neil!” She jumps off of the panicked Woodscout and starts racing towards the only well-lit part of the camp. As they make it around a large bunker, they both gasp. Max is tangled up in what looks like a climbing challenge, practically upside-down. Nikki glances down and sees a pit of hot coals beneath the ropes course. Her jaw drops as she realizes Max isn’t holding onto anything, just dangling precariously.

“Max! What the hell is going on?” Neil yells, running over to the edge of the coal pit.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking this entire time,” Max responds angrily. “They’ve been putting me through training shit all fucking day. Help me get down from here!”

Nikki runs over and jumps onto the ropes course, earning a surprised squeak from Neil. She helps Max untangle himself and get off the ropes. As soon as he’s back on the ground, he lets out a breath. “C’mon, let’s get out of this _other_ God-forsaken hellhole.”

As they’re running towards the exit, they stop dead in their tracks. What looks like the entire camp, led by Pikeman, is standing by the exit. Pikeman is in the middle of a speech about finding an intruder when one of the scouts spots Nikki, Neil, and Max.

“There!” The scout yells. “Those three!”

Pikeman turns with a scowl on his face and points at the three. “ _Don’t let them escape!_ ”

Neil shrieks and starts bolting in the other direction, Max and Nikki close behind.

“Max, what do we do?!” Nikki yells.

“How am I supposed to know? I’ve been here for what, like, four hours?”

“Well, it was more like an entire day--” Neil cuts in.

“Wait, there!” Nikki grabs Neil’s and Max’s wrists and hauls them towards the ropes course. “Hurry, get to the top and jump over the wall!”

“Are you insane?!” Max yells. “Do you not see the barbed wire?”

“We’re gonna have to try it!” Nikki yells back, leaping over the coals and latching onto the ropes. She starts climbing, gesturing for the others to do the same. Neil takes a running start and yelps as he jumps over, but makes it. Max hesitates, looking over at the Woodscout army rushing towards them.

“Max, let’s _go!_ ” Nikki urges. Max takes a breath and takes a running start, jumping over. As he grabs the ropes, his hands start to slip. Neil climbs down to his level and grabs his arm, helping him up the ropes. Nikki is the first to jump over, clearing the barbed wire. Max goes next, after Neil gave him an encouraging push. Max makes it over, but the hood of his hoodie is caught and torn on the wire. Neil takes the jump. The back of his leg hits the wire and it gashes his jeans, leaving a large scratch on his skin. Once he’s on the ground, Nikki and Max yank him to his feet and continue running.

They keep running until they can’t hear thunder anymore.  
\--

After a couple encounters with angry squirrels and a lot of Neil’s whining, the three limp back into Camp Campbell in one piece. The moment they step back onto campgrounds, they can hear David searching for them, calling out their names. Max rolls his eyes and shoves his hands on his pockets, dreading facing his counselor after being missing for almost a day.

They find David easily, following the sound of his nerve-wracked voice. David spots them as he turns around and immediately runs over to them.

“Kids! I was so worried, where the gosh darn heck--” his words abruptly stop as he sees the minor injuries everyone had sustained, especially Max’s black eye and Neil’s bleeding leg. “Oh my god! What happened to you all? Come on, let’s get you to the infirmary. Neil, do you need me to carry you?”

Neil swats away David’s hand. “No, I don’t need your help. It’s just a scratch.”

David looks mildly upset, but nods and leads the three to the camp infirmary. Nikki only has more dirt than usual on her face and clothes, so she sits in a visitor chair. Max is seated on a stool next to a counter piled with bandages and disinfectant, and Neil’s leg is hastily cleaned and bandaged. He’s sat down on the only patient bed, and Nikki hurries over to him to talk about how exciting the adventure was.

David goes over to the stool where Max is seated and sighs. “Are you okay, Max?”

“I’m _fine,_ ” Max insists, irritated.

“I’ll be right back with an icepack, okay?” Max just scowls in response. As soon as David is out of the small cabin, he groans.

“Do you guys see how he’s treating me?” Max asks to Nikki and Neil. “Like I’m a kicked puppy or something! What is with him?”

“I dunno,” Nikki says, bouncing slightly on the mattress. “Maybe it’s cause he was really worried about you.”

“He seems like the type to see his campers as, like, his kids or something,” Neil observes. “I had a teacher who was just like that. Maybe that’s why.”

Max sighs. “Whatever. I still hate it.”

David knocks twice on the door before coming in, icepack in hand. Max snatches it out of his hand and holds it up to his eye begrudgingly.

“Your hoodie,” David notices as he goes to get a washcloth. “It’s torn and… burnt?”

“Yeah, so? The hood already had a hole in it from where QM picked me up by his hook.”

“Still, do you want something else to wear? I could email your parents and ask them to send another hoodie of yours.”

“This is the only hoodie I’ve got,” Max snaps. “I’ll be fine, it’s summer anyway.”

David looks visibly concerned, but appears to brush it off. Once he’s made sure Max isn’t bleeding and the bruises on his arms and face are tended to, he leaves to discuss things with Gwen. Max hops off the stool and rubs his face where the icepack had been resting for a while.

“That was annoying,” he mumbled, looking over at Nikki and Neil. The two are staring at him. “What?”

“We’re glad you’re back,” Neil says quietly. Nikki nods her head with a smile. Max doesn’t quite know how to respond, breaking eye contact.

“Right. Thanks for helping me out.” He looks back up at his friends with a small, yet sincere smile on his face.

\--

Later, as the sun is dipping beneath the horizon, Max goes back into his tent. He rubs his arms, having tossed his ruined hoodie aside after leaving the infirmary. As he gets to his bed, he stops walking.

His hoodie, patched up and clean, is lying on his pillow. He goes over and picks it up. The fabric is still soft- if not softer than before- and the cuts and holes have been covered in slightly off-color blue fabric. The stitching is messy, the cuffs of the sleeves are still damp, and it still smells of smoke.

Max puts it on and curls up on his bed, hugging the fabric to his chest.


End file.
